Myself beneath the tree, by the lake. PV Closed

As much as Muriel loved Hogwarts, there was one thing she didn’t enjoy about it: the Great Hall. Ever since she was sorted, she’d wanted to avoid the hall as much as possible. It was noisy. And very crowded. Both of those attributes being the exact opposite of favorites. So, after she was done with dinner, she quietly shuffled out of the hall, walked all the way to the grounds, and started taking her routinely stroll by the Great Lake.

Sure, taking a walk in the middle of the cold, snowy season might be a bit unusual to some, especially those not used to the colder weather who saw it as a time to stay inside rather than outside. But taking a walk with all those things on top of it becoming dark soon? That’s very strange, at least to the few people who’ve given her a strange look or two. But Muriel never minded, her evening walks were one of the favorite times of the day; there were no worries, no homework or classes, and all the time in the world to go off and daydream in her imaginary worlds to her heart’s content.

And that’s exactly what she did everyday, and today was no different. As she walked along the water’s freezing edge and past some leafless trees, Muriel looked across the horizon where the sun was setting, her mind elsewhere. I wonder how the Giant Squid is... do squids ever get cold? What will it do when the surface freezes completely over? Can it break the ice? Will it have enough food to eat? Would if the fish freeze? ...Are there even fish in the Great Lake?

Alex slowly walked along the perimeter of the Great Lake, her eyes tracked on the grass, looking intently at every blade of grass.

She had lost her watch, a small, golden thing, with silver hands and a little buckle to hold it together. It was her father's, David Edwards. He was a muggle, and didn't seem to know that muggle objects like watches don't work on the grounds of Hogwarts. But she had brought it anyway, as a little reminder of him. Her mother, Natalie, who was a witch, had put a little spell on it to make it stronger, but strong or not, Alex had still lost it on the banks of the Great Lake while having a running race with one of her friends.

Alex stopped to look up across the Great Lake. Two girls where already there, both in First Year, but as Alex looked closer, she could see that the first one, a ginger-head girl reading a book against a tree, was in Ravenclaw, and the second, a dark-haired girl that was in Ravenclaw as well, was walking along the banks of the lake as her was.

Alex, struck by a sudden idea, rushed over to where the two girls were standing/sitting. She didn't know them, but Alex had never had a problem with strangers.

"Hi, I'm Alex. I was wondering if you have seen a gold watch? It's kinda small, with bits of silver on it."

Samantha cast a glance around her, and discovered a black haired girl besides her.
By the looks of her clothes, she was a fellow Ravenclaw.
The girls mind seemed to be elsewhere. She was gazing over the horizon, where the sun was casting it's glimmering rays of light upon the water, as it slowly set.
"H-Hello. I'm Samantha."

Samantha had just introduced herself before another girl spoke out of nowhere.

"Hi, I'm Alex. I was wondering if you have seen a gold watch? It's kinda small, with bits of silver on it."

A bit flustered Samantha looked at Alex. Oh, this is the first Gryffindor I've spoken to. I have to make a good impression.
Samantha quickly regained her composure, and turned her upper body, still with the book in her hand, towards Alex.
Hi! I'm Samantha. I'm sorry, I haven't seen your watch. I don't suppose you know Accio?Samantha was hopeful, as this was a fourth year charm.
I can help you look if you want to, but if you don't know where you lost it, maybe it would be quicker asking a teacher to use the Summoning Charm? Do you happen to have a picture of your watch?
Samantha looked at the girl with sympathy. By the look on her face it seems like this watch means a lot to her, and she would do whatever she could to help her find it.

Muriel’s mind snapped back to the present as she suddenly heard the voice of another person. She quickly spun around, wide-eyed, only to see another girl sitting beneath a tree with a pile of books. “Oh, umm... hi, I’m Muriel,” she replied back softly, continuing to stare at the girl she was totally blind to. That was, until yet another voice was heard from her side; a girl who introduced herself as Alex, asking about a watch.

Muriel stood where she was for a moment, gathering herself away from her daydreams as the girl she now knew as Samantha offered to help look, but also suggested using the Summoning Charm, a fourth year spell. Unfortunately, neither of the two girls looked any older than her, so that option was probably not the best. When Samantha then suggested for Alex to ask a teacher for help, that sounded even worse to her; it was already late and she didn’t want them to bother any of the Hogwarts staff, especially the mean ones that could give them all detentions. A picture, however, would be nice, just to get a visual of it in their heads.

“Umm... I could help you look too if you want... that way there would be more ground being covered,” Muriel finally spoke again. She had nothing better to do, plus she liked to help people; she was always taught it was the right thing to do. She then briefly recalled Alex’s description of the watch, thinking in silence for a few moments before coming up with an idea of sorts.

“You said it was gold and silver, right? So it’s made of metal?” She asked thoughtfully, running the idea through her head again, making sure it wasn’t foolish. “Maybe we could find it easier with some light, since the metal will reflect and make it pop out from everything else...?” That was, as long as the watch was polished and not too dull for the light to bounce back off it. Way to think that through, Muriel.

Perhaps she was getting too far ahead of herself; what if the watch was really old and rusty? Then none of what she said would work. And what if the girls didn’t even want her help? Then she was forcefully inviting herself in, which was very rude. These thoughts made her immediately go silent again and wonder if she should just walk away now and avoid saying anything more.

Alex grinned as both the girls replied. They seemed nice, the ginger-head a little louder, but the green-eyed one still looked like she generally cared about the watch. Alex scolded herself quickly when she said this, remembering that they had told her their names. The first was Samantha, which Alex thought matched her with her fiery red hair, and the second was Muriel, a sweet name. Alex had once watched a muggle movie about a girl named Muriel.

The reflection... that was a good idea. The silver watch, although old, still glimmered in the sunlight. To see if the plan would work, Alex looked up to the sky, watching as a cloud slowly covered the sun. She turned back to the green-eyed girl, still smiling at them. Since that wouldn't work, the other plan, simpler and harder in different ways, would have to do.

"Doesn't look like it could reflect off anything now, but it was a pretty good idea. I'll use that one next time I loose it and can't use magic. I could try the spell though, but that is a Fourth Year spell, isn't it? I can hardly do the First Year spells without breaking something. Do either of you know how to? I mean, the indication is accio, I know that, but do either of you know the movement?"

Samantha shook her head. She did not know the movement of the summoning charm, only the incantation. Failed magic attempts could be dangerous, so she didn't want to try either.
"Muriel I love your idea. Shame I don't know lumos." Looking for a shiny object with lumos could definately be easier. It was a wonderful idea.

"I don't think we're past curfew yet, so if you two want me to, I can run to get a teacher. Maybe Mr. Ryker is still in his office, he is the closest i think, as he is in charge of flying class. If not, we can just look around until curfew, and maybe continue looking tomorrow when there's daylight? Would that be okay with you Alex?"

Samantha could understand if Alex wanted her clock back today. It looks like she tried to hide it, but that watch must mean a lot to her. She looked kinda sad through her smile.
Samantha looked around the lake, it sure was a huge amount of area to cover for three small girls. The gears in her head could probably be heard, she was really trying to come up with a way to find the watch.

Muriel followed Alex’s gaze towards the setting sun, where an unfortunate cloud rolled over, making the grounds even darker than before. She briefly shook her head to the girl’s next question; she was still barely learning First Year spells, let alone Second, Third, or Fourth Year ones, which was what the Summoning Charm was. But she couldn’t help but smile as well when she shook her head; they were contagious, plus the mentioning of breaking stuff while practicing brought back fun memories of one of her previous classes.

Muriel then turned to Samantha, who suggested getting the Flying Professor or to just begin looking around before they all had to head back for the night. But the first thing she’d mentioned was still a possibility as well. “Well... maybe we can try both of our ideas?” Muriel asked as she gently pulled out her wand from her robe pocket. “Lumos,” she said steadily but firmly as she did a quick loop de loop with her wand. Within a moment, a small but decently bright white light appeared, causing a little bit of the surroundings to glow.

“I can start trying to look around in the grass while you could go and see if Mr. Ryker is still around and willing to help? That way, if one of the plans fail, we still have the other...” She spoke timidly, wondering if it was actually practical to try doing two plans at once. But it’s like killing two birds with one stone, right? Plus time is of the essence...

“...I really do hope you find your watch,” she finally murmured to Alex before lowering her wand hand to light up the ground.

Alex decided she liked these two girls. A lot. It was something she took very seriously, making friends, but these two girls did seem to care about Alex finding her watch, and they looked like they wanted to help.

Lumos was a good idea. Why need the light when you already have it? That was one of the best things about being magical, Alex decided. Not depending on things as much. And the second part of the plan, with Samantha and herself going to find the teacher, was equally brilliant. She had't met the flying teacher in person yet, but she had heard stories about Mr. Ryker. Apparently Alex's brother had pranked him once, two years ago, but Lucas liked to boast a lot, so this could be as true as it could be false.

Scanning the school grounds, snowflakes still falling prettily, she looked for anyone else, but no one, neither student or teacher could be seen.

Alex turned to Samantha, (whose beautiful ginger hair was now a permanent source of envy for Alex) and asked;

"Would you like to come to me to find the teacher with me, while Muriel stays here, or do you want to stay here, and help look for it?"